PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Study suggests hepatitis E may be a sexually transmitted infection

Researchers find virus is associated with pig sperm

2024-06-18
(Press-News.org) COLUMBUS, Ohio – Discovering that hepatitis E virus is associated with sperm in pigs suggests the virus may be both sexually transmitted and linked to male infertility, according to a new study.

Hepatitis E (HEV) is the leading cause of the acute viral liver infection in humans worldwide, mostly in developing regions where sanitation is poor. The virus is also endemic in pigs in the United States – though it is present mostly in organs rather than muscle, and is killed when the meat is cooked.

Because HEV has been linked to fatal pregnancy complications and reports of male infertility in the developing world, researchers at The Ohio State University explored its infectivity in pigs, whose reproductive anatomy closely resembles that of humans.

After inoculating pigs with HEV, the team found the virus circulated in blood and was shed in feces, meaning that the pigs were infected, but they had no clinical symptoms –asymptomatic cases are common in humans, as well. Results also showed HEV was present on the head of sperm cells, and that these same viral particles could infect human liver cells in culture and begin replicating.

“Our study is the first one demonstrating this association of hepatitis E virus with the sperm cell,” said first author Kush Yadav, who completed the work as a PhD student in Ohio State’s Center for Food Animal Health. “Our future studies will be directed toward understanding the association between hepatitis E virus and the sperm head more mechanistically, and using animal models to see whether sexual transmission of the virus is happening – because in the human setting, we still don’t know.”

The study was published recently in the journal PLOS Pathogens.

Sexually transmitted organisms are those able to find safe haven in testicles, where they are protected by a blood-testis barrier that immune cells cannot cross. In addition to pregnancy and reproductive disorders linked to HEV, there are signs it can also lead to pancreatic and neurological disorders in humans. Historically, clinical infections – even in pregnant people – have been assumed to be traced to fecal-oral transmission.

Yadav works in the lab of senior study author Scott Kenney, an associate professor of veterinary preventive medicine at Ohio State based in the Center for Food Animal Health at the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences’ Wooster campus.

Kenney studies HEV and other viruses in animals – especially those capable of infecting humans. This work is an offshoot of a larger study in pigs examining HEV strains that are resistant to antivirals.

Using fluorescence microscopy in this new study to examine pig semen 84 days after inoculation with HEV, Yadav detected viral particles associated with at least 19% of sperm cells collected from the infected swine.

“We can’t say they’re sitting on the outside or inside the sperm cells,” he said. “We don’t know if the hepatitis E virus can actually complete a replication cycle in the sperm head, so we’re thinking sperm is more of a carrier than a susceptible cell.”

The study also showed that HEV’s presence correlated with damaged sperm – potentially altering their structure and decreasing their ability to move through seminal fluid. That said, the researchers can’t yet say that these changes directly translate into fertility problems, though the link between HEV infection and human infertility suggests this could be the case.

“In between 20 and 50% of documented male infertility cases, they don’t really know what’s causing it,” Kenney said. “So we’re pushing for more screening for hepatitis E virus as a potential cause for those cases.”

The current findings also form the basis for screening the sexual partners of pregnant women who test positive for HEV, Yadav said, even though scientists haven’t yet established sexual transmission is possible.

There are implications for the swine industry, as well. Most commercial pig litters are produced by artificial insemination, with donor sperm distributed broadly from large breeder facilities.

“That could be part of the problem with HEV being endemic across the country, and raises a question about whether it causes a reduction in the reproductivity of the pigs,” Kenney said. “Because HEV doesn’t cause enough damage to pigs to limit production profitability, I don’t see the swine industry broadly vaccinating for hepatitis E virus, but if we could implement some kind of cost-effective screening or vaccination at these upstream boar facilities, maybe we could reduce introduction of the virus into new herds.”

This work was supported by state and federal funds appropriated to the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center and by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Additional co-authors include Patricia Boley, Thamonpan Laocharoensuk, Saroj Khatiwada, Carolyn Lee, Menuka Bhandari and Juliette Hanson of Ohio State and Lindsey Moore of the College of Wooster.

#

Contacts:

Kush Yadav, Yadav.94@osu.edu
Scott Kenney, Kenney.157@osu.edu

Written by Emily Caldwell, Caldwell.151@osu.edu; 614-292-8152

 

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Investigating the causes of fetal growth disorders

Investigating the causes of fetal growth disorders
2024-06-18
Common complications of pregnancy affecting fetal size may be caused by irregularities in the transport of amino acids across the placenta—a finding with therapeutic implications. Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and fetal overgrowth affect 15-20% of pregnancies worldwide. Abnormal fetal growth is strongly linked to the development of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in later life. Placental transport of essential amino acids is decreased in human IUGR and increased in fetal overgrowth, but whether this was a cause or consequence was unclear. Fredrick Rosario-Joseph and colleagues created a line of mice ...

Enzymes instead of cyanide: Researchers develop biocatalytic process for nitrile production

Enzymes instead of cyanide: Researchers develop biocatalytic process for nitrile production
2024-06-18
If the household cleaner emits a lemon-like odour, this may be due to a nitrile called citronellyl nitrile. These versatile chemical nitrile groups are also used in the manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients, superglue and chemical-resistant gloves. The prevalent production process used so far has required a chemical reaction of certain molecules with highly toxic cyanide. Margit Winkler from the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology at TU Graz, together with Ludmila Martínková from the Institute of Microbiology at the Czech Academy of Sciences, ...

New study reveals promising drug target for treating osteoporosis

New study reveals promising drug target for treating osteoporosis
2024-06-18
Osteoporosis is a skeletal condition that leads to the weakening of bones, making them porous, fragile, and prone to breakage. A whopping 8.9 million fractures are caused by osteoporosis annually, with one fracture occurring every three seconds! The aging population is the most vulnerable to primary osteoporosis, given, their frailty, and often, requires long-term therapy and support. Advances in healthcare and the corresponding rise in the aging population have put a strain on available resources, underscoring the need for effective therapies against osteoporosis. Induction of parathyroid hormone (PTH) signaling using the PTH-derived ...

Breakthrough may clear major hurdle for quantum computers

Breakthrough may clear major hurdle for quantum computers
2024-06-18
The potential of quantum computers is currently thwarted by a trade-off problem. Quantum systems that can carry out complex operations are less tolerant to errors and noise, while systems that are more protected against noise are harder and slower to compute with. Now a research team from Chalmers University of Technology, in Sweden, has created a unique system that combats the dilemma, thus paving the way for longer computation time and more robust quantum computers. For the impact of quantum computers to be realised in society, quantum researchers first need to deal with some major obstacles. So far, errors and noise stemming from, for example, ...

Authority's physical proximity means greater obedience. New look at results of famous experiment

2024-06-18
Who should be spared pain, hurt or disappointment, and who should be harmed? This internal dilemma accompanied the participants of the Milgram experiment, say experts from SWPS University. They have revisited the causes of obedience in that famous study and showed that the experimenter's physical proximity promote subjects' obedience, while the learner's physical proximity decreases it.    American social psychologist Stanley Milgram's demonstration of the human tendency to show extreme obedience to authority was one of the most ...

Large wildfires create weather that favors more fire

Large wildfires create weather that favors more fire
2024-06-18
A new UC Riverside study shows soot from large wildfires in California traps sunlight, making days warmer and drier than they ought to be.   Many studies look at the effect of climate change on wildfires. However, this study sought to understand the reverse — whether large fires are also changing the climate.  “I wanted to learn how the weather is affected by aerosols emitted by wildfires as they’re burning,” said lead study author and UCR doctoral candidate James Gomez. To find his answers, Gomez analyzed peak fire days and ...

Election administration performance linked to counties’ economic, racial makeup

2024-06-18
PULLMAN, Wash. – Voters who are neither wealthy nor white are more likely to live in counties with fewer resources available to make sure ballots are counted on time, a new election index revealed. Researchers developed the County Election Administration index, detailed in the Election Law Journal, to evaluate election performance by county rather than just by state. Election administration encompasses the policies and processes that ensure election access, integrity and accuracy. Despite voter fraud claims in the last presidential election, researchers found that overall election performance ...

Blood markers detect rare forms of dementia as well as the neurological diseases ALS and PSP

2024-06-18
In a study with 991 adults, scientists at DZNE show that the most common forms of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) as well as the neurological diseases amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) can be recognised by blood testing. Their procedure is not yet ready for routine medical use, but in the long term it could facilitate disease diagnosis and advance the development of new therapies already now. The findings published in the journal “Nature Medicine” are based ...

Restored rat-free islands could support hundreds of thousands more breeding seabirds

Restored rat-free islands could support hundreds of thousands more breeding seabirds
2024-06-18
Hundreds of thousands more breeding pairs of seabirds could return to remote island archipelagos if invasive rats were removed and native vegetation restored – a new paper finds.   In a first of its kind study, researchers also calculated that there are enough fish in the seas surrounding the remote tropical islands that were the focus of the research within hunting range of seabirds to support these restored populations.   This is an important factor that has not been considered in previous island restoration studies and could become ...

University of the Witwatersrand chooses Figshare to support its open data goals

2024-06-18
Figshare, a leading provider of institutional repository infrastructure that supports open research, is pleased to announce that the University of the Witwatersrand Library has chosen Figshare to support its research community with archiving, publishing, sharing and promoting their datasets.  The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) – a leading research institution in South Africa based in Johannesburg, ranked as the second best university in Africa 2024 (jointly with Stellenbosch University) – will ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

So what should we call this – a grue jay?

Chicago Quantum Exchange-led coalition advances to final round in NSF Engine competition

Study identifies candidates for therapeutic targets in pediatric germ cell tumors

Media alert: The global burden of CVD

Study illuminates contributing factors to blood vessel leakage

What nations around the world can learn from Ukraine

Mixing tree species does not always make forests more drought-resilient

Public confidence in U.S. health agencies slides, fueled by declines among Democrats

“Quantum squeezing” a nanoscale particle for the first time

El Niño spurs extreme daily rain events despite drier monsoons in India

Two studies explore the genomic diversity of deadly mosquito vectors

Zebra finches categorize their vocal calls by meaning

Analysis challenges conventional wisdom about partisan support for US science funding

New model can accurately predict a forest’s future

‘Like talking on the telephone’: Quantum computing engineers get atoms chatting long distance

Genomic evolution of major malaria-transmitting mosquito species uncovered

Overcoming the barriers of hydrogen storage with a low-temperature hydrogen battery

Tuberculosis vulnerability of people with HIV: a viral protein implicated

Partnership with Kenya's Turkana community helps scientists discover genes involved in adaptation to desert living

Decoding the selfish gene, from evolutionary cheaters to disease control

Major review highlights latest evidence on real-time test for blood – clotting in childbirth emergencies

Inspired by bacteria’s defense strategies

Research spotlight: Combination therapy shows promise for overcoming treatment resistance in glioblastoma

University of Houston co-leads $25 million NIH-funded grant to study the delay of nearsightedness in children

NRG Oncology PREDICT-RT study completes patient accrual, tests individualized concurrent therapy and radiation for high-risk prostate cancer

Taking aim at nearsightedness in kids before it’s diagnosed

With no prior training, dogs can infer how similar types of toys work, even when they don’t look alike

Three deadliest risk factors of a common liver disease identified in new study

Dogs can extend word meanings to new objects based on function, not appearance

Palaeontology: South American amber deposit ‘abuzz’ with ancient insects

[Press-News.org] Study suggests hepatitis E may be a sexually transmitted infection
Researchers find virus is associated with pig sperm